I came across some statistics about which professions rely on coffee the most to make it through their day. Some surprising jobs made the list, and some of you will note your own professions here. (Apparently, they didn’t survey “Pastors at Trinity” because we didn’t make the top ten list). You can see all the stats here:

The list raises an interesting thought, though. What are we really dependent on? As leaders in various fields of industry, there are certain tools that are indispensable. Some jobs require certain products. Yet as spiritual leaders, we all require God’s presence and His guidance not only to make it through the day, but in order to effectively lead others. Too often, it seems that we substitute other things to lead or distract us, instead of finding the real source of our leadership in God.

Leadership is described as a spiritual gift, which implies on some level that we can’t effectively lead without the Spirit’s guidance. We should strive to live each moment more and more aware of our need for God, and more and more aware of His presence in our lives.

How often do we take God’s leading in our lives for granted? What are we choosing instead?

What must we do to keep ourselves focused with God’s leading so that we can most effectively lead others?

This past weekend, in addition to our very moving dual-language service, we took part in Big Serve Walla Walla. Many of us had the joy of working downtown, cleaning up trash and weeds at the request of the city parks department.

The project was fun and worthwhile, and it reminded me of a particular passage from Genesis. In Genesis 12, God calls Abraham out from his homeland, from his family, essentially out from every comfortable and known thing. God tells Abraham that if he will obey God and follow Him, God will make him into a great nation and bless him. Notice carefully what God says in Genesis 12:2:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

God tells Abraham that he’ll be blessed. But his blessing doesn’t stop with Abraham. He’s blessed so that he can be a blessing to others. Following God means that we pass on the blessings we get from Him.

When we do things that require us to step out of our comfort zone, when we pursue God in obedience, He promises us blessings. But one thing that we too easily forget is that the blessings are not designed to stop with us, but rather to pass through us so that we end up blessing other people.

How have you been blessed?

How have you turned blessings you’ve received into blessings you’ve given away?

One of the people I’m most looking forward to meeting when I die is Peter, the apostle. As I read the gospels, and particularly the Gospel of Mark (which many believe is a record of Peter’s testimony about Jesus, recorded by Mark), I get a fascinating glimpse into the life and personality of Peter. He’s the type of person who has what experts call “high mental energy.” He was a man of action; when he heard “question,” he thought “answer.” When he heard “problem,” he thought “solution.”

Sometimes this “leap before you look” mentality got Peter into sticky situations. But sometimes, it was just the sort of take charge attitude that was called for. On the day of Pentecost, for example, someone needed to step up and boldly describe what was happening. Someone needed to have the courage to share with all those people what God wanted them to hear. And Peter’s boldness provided him with the ability to do just that.

Part of refining ourselves as leaders means that we discern when are the times to act and speak boldly and when are the times to pause and observe.

Another part of refining our leadership means that we know ourselves well enough to surround ourselves with complementary people. If you are a person of action, like Peter, partner with someone who will keep you grounded. If you are a reflective, thinking leader, surround yourself with people of action who will spur you to activity.

Who is in your life that complements your leadership gifts? How can you refine those relationships in order to maximize your effectiveness?